Lovely Lettuces in the Garden

Cooking

Pavel, McKeever and Betsy in the kitchen cooking dinner for all of us- it was delicious, thank you!!

Summer at Franconia Sculpture Park

Its summer in rural Minnesota and its so perfect today.  Kate is sitting outside working on a costume, its cool and everyone has worked and played hard.

LOGO: Thanks Terri!

This is my project logo adapted from my previous project.  Terri Wada designed this logo and refashioned it.  Poster and handbills coming soon via Woody McBride.  Interior painting is finished, next its time to deal with the big exterior sign with the help of Jamie and McKeever.  I am going to order chocolate cupcakes from the St. Croix Cafe for the July 17th project panel discussion/town hall meeting, I think.  Cupcakes, coffee, lemonade, speakers, discussion, a little history of community-based rural arts initiatives in Wisconsin, etc.  More on that shortly.

Going from Freelance to 9-5 (actually more like 7-9?)

I just accepted a position at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, OH; its a part of OSU and I will be moving there at the end of August.  I am very excited! 

How to Make Do/Repurpose

Here are Betsy and Nung Hsin, superstar interns from Franconia Sculpture Park.  Nung Hsin continues to work on signs (and replicas of signs!) and Betsy can solve any problem large or small from changing smoke detector batteries to creatively making window screens with whatever she could find like scrap cloth and old wire fake christmas greenery.  We talked about how interesting it is to be able to "make do" with any materials you have instead of needing to go buy new.  Also, how this keeps clutter down, incorporates recycling, saves gas and money!  Sometimes its great to have strict material limitations as a structure for showcasing one's creativity.  I found a hand made 1940's child's shirt in a thrift store today and the inside plackets and shoulder linings were made from old sugar sack cloth as interfacing.  I thought it was such a beautiful and loving use of recycled materials.

SIGNS

SIGNAGE SIGNSsignagesigns

Today Nung Hsin helped me with signage. I cleaned and scraped and sanded and taped. It was a great day- tomorrow I begin to paint walls.

The KEY

Today I actually took temporary possession of 109 South Washington Street in St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin! Now, I have a massive amount to work to do to get ready to open to the public but I have the help of some incredible visiting interns at Franconia Sculpture Park, a special thank you goes to Robin for his blogging tutorial and advice. Alison helped me alot today!

Also, Woody McBride has agreed to help me with some graphic design work even though he is in Australia right now as one of the most in-demand dj's of the universe. Never assume that people who live in small rural "fly over" communities are somehow out of touch with the rest of the world...more soon, stay tuned!

Welcome to St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, USA

WHAT IS “MATERIAL CULTURE”?

The material means by which humans adapt to the world

The “object” part of culture, the tangible possessions of a culture

Any material item that has had cultural meaning ascribed to it- past and present

What do you treasure? Is it something that you own or may have had for a long time? Is it a person (like your grand daughter) or an object (like your favorite tool or utensil)? What is the story of what you treasure and why is it so valuable to you? Did you make it or did an ancestor make it or collect it?

Whatever it is, it is a special object that is a symbol of YOU and says something about you. It’s a part of your life story. It does not matter whether it is new or old. Whether you made it or bought it or someone else did and gave it to you. It might not be worth anything to anyone else. All that matters is that it worth a lot to you. Examples from previous projects include family heirlooms, electronic gear such as cell phones, computers and ipods, vehicles like cars, bikes, tractors and motorcycles, tools like a comb, mixing spoon, hammer or sawzall, garments, jewelry, people, toys, books, their own hair, a dance move, a story, a trophy, a photograph, etc.

Everyone is welcome to participate. A child can bring her favorite toy, for example. Any size, shape or configuration from anyone is welcome.

Please share your treasure with me. I will take a picture of it, measure it and carefully write down the full story you tell about it. Then you take it back home for safe-keeping. I will catalog all the items brought in and create a database that will become a time capsule. I will make a drawing of your object, display it and give it to you when the project is completed. Your treasure will join other peoples and will form a very accurate and personal snapshot of the material culture of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin in the summer of 2008. You can choose to remain anonymous or not, its up to you.